Dad killed in Colo. rockslide shielded teenage daughter

Oct. 1, 2013
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A Flight for Life Helicopter rises above backed up traffic Sept. 30, 2013, in south-central Colorado. Roads were closed as emergency personnel work to aid hikers trapped after a rock slide on the trail to Agnes Vaille Falls. / James Redmond/The Mountain Mail, AP

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

A teenage girl who survived a massive rockslide that killed five hikers in Colorado was saved by her father who shielded her at the last minute with his own body, a rescuer tells ABC News.

Recovery teams may not be able to return to the site until Tuesday afternoon to remove the bodies because of unstable conditions made worse by heavy rain in recent weeks.

The hikers were buried by rocks -- some weighing more than 100 tons -- that fell from a cliff face over Agnes Vaille Falls and slid down the popular trail leading up Mount Princeton near Northrop, Colo., 125 miles southwest of Denver.

Chaffee County Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tolsma, one of the first rescuers summoned to the scene by a 911 call, told ABC News that he plucked 13-year-old Gracie Johnson from the rubble.

"I heard a scream next to me. I saw a hand sticking out underneath the boulder," Tolsma told the network. "The true hero is her dad. She said her dad jumped on her to protect her at the last moment when the rocks were coming down. I think he saved her life."

Gracie, who suffered a broken leg, was airlifted from the site. The rescue teams were then pulled out before they could recover the bodies because of more rocks coming off the cliff.

"We will go back in as soon as the area can be declared safe for the search teams," said Chaffee County Sheriff Pete Palmer.

Palmer said a coroner at the scene had reported that the bodies were crushed by boulders and were in "bad shape."

"He's seen the condition of the bodies," Palmer told reporters. "There is no one alive up there."

Although the names of the victims have not been officially released, the Denver Post , ABC News and other media identified three of them as members of Gracie's family, including her father, Dwayne Johnson, and mother, Dawna Johnson, a track coach at Buena Vista High School, and a sister.

Chaffee County Undersheriff John Spezze said his office would ask the U.S. Forest Service to permanently close the hiking trail.